Close Encounter of the Darkest Kind
by xyrule
Summary: Ash Ketchum is travelling through the newest Pokemon region: Palmo. He quickly discovers the secret of Xyrule, and is thrown into an all-out war between the God Pokemon and Flarimist. He also discovers something about his own past, which will further his knowledge of the way the world works. Join him in his quest for truth, understanding, and friendship. REWRITTEN!
1. A Paradox Is Born

_Every story ends with a happy ending. Who told you that? Let me tell you now, a happy ending is as much a fairytale as the story that has one. All decisions, no matter what, always end in sadness and hatred. At least, they do in my life. I've lived for millennia, shunned, hated by all who see me. I was raised by someone I once thought perfect, but I realize that was all a lie. When he told me I was to become the Devil, I realized that he didn't care for me at all. I still hate him. I hate Xyrule for what he did to me._

_My name is Flarimist, and this is where my story begins._

The day after Xyrule created the Xyrullean Complex around Kharkoul, and my 10,000th birthday...

''Why did you create these Universes, Father?'' I asked. I walked through the Universe that Xyrule had created as the gateway to all others. He had let me name it, and I called it the Time-Space Intersect, or simply the Gateway. I saw Kharkoul on one side and another Universe on the other. I went through to the other Universe, which Xyrule had blessed with life. Many different species that Xyrule called ''Pokemon'' walked, flew, and swam through the world, followed by another species which all stood on two legs and wore clothing made from fabric made from things like Nanab Berry strings. Xyrule had named them ''humans''. They went nearer to me, and I shifted my appearance to look like them.

''What is your name?'' the largest, a male whose name was Aster, asked. He had dark steely blue hair that jutted in every direction and intelligent amber eyes. He had two liightning-bolt marks under his eyes.

''Where are your parents?'' the second-largest asked (my human form is a child, like me). She had brick-red hair and brown eyes. She looked less remarkable than the male.

''M-My name is, uh...'' I started, and felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back, and saw a man with startling green eyes and a necklace with an amulet on the end. It was a white plate with a lime-green snake spiralling outward. I recognized it, and smiled, knowing it was safe.

''This is my son, Aden. He's very adventurous. Sorry if he bothered you.'' the man said. I decided I liked the name. It fit well. It meant ''fire''.

''It's okay. We were just travelling through here anyway.'' the female, named Brooke, said cheerily. ''What is your name? This is Aster, and my name is Brooke.'' she said.

''My name is Xyrule.'' my father said. If the human family saw anything strange about their creator's name being used for a human, they didn't show it.

''There's going to be a meeting tonight. Xyrule the Creator is hosting it.'' Aster said. All of this first generation of humans knew Xyrule, and had seen him.

''I know. I'll be there.'' Xyrule said. He turned me around now. ''Come on, Aden. I believe I never answered your question.'' Xyrule brought me to the hidden portal, and I looked back at the family of humans. They didn't seem to care when both of us disappeared into the Gateway.

In Kharkoul...

''Those humans seemed really nice.'' I said, changing back into my true form. Xyrule did as well.

''I created them to hold that Universe. I gave them the ability to adapt and learn. I also gave them high intelligence, because they are meant as the driving force of that Universe. But remember, I also gave them free will. Not all of them are as nice as Aster and Brooke. You should use caution when near them. If they learn who you are...'' Xyrule said. A Xorro scurried up to him.

''**The Great Paradox is complete.**'' it said in its own language, which humans would later name Pokespeech. Xyrule nodded.

''Come, Flarimist. It's time for you to meet your brother.'' he said, following the Xorro. I went along, wondering what a ''paradox'' was.

A few minutes later, Xyrule stopped in front of a large, shadowy egg. It was over three feet tall. Xyrule's eyes glowed green, along with the Power Plate. He gave the thing inside of the egg life, and a long scar filled with glowing Dark energy began to form. The rift widened, until the shell split in half. A two-foot-tall humanoid came out. It looked like it was made of shadows. The image was recorded in my mind for eternity. It looked at Xyrule and me with large purple eyes.

''What is it's name?'' I asked. Xyrule and the thing looked at me.

''Why don't you have the honor of naming it? Something to show that it controls all enigmas and impossibilities in the Xyrullean Complex.'' Xyrule said. I thought hard about it. Somehow, looking at the creature made me fell like I had known it all my life. It answered my question about ''paradoxes''.

''It's name, is Dillemel.'' I finally said. The newly named creature smiled at the name, revealing razor-sharp fangs.

''And so it is. Dillemel, the Great Paradox, is born.''


	2. When I Learned The Secret

8,000 years after previous chapter...

''Why is Xyrule humming to himself?'' Dillemel asked. He was now the mental equivalent of a eight-year-old human, which he had taken interest in as soon as he saw that Universe. I looked at him.

''He's creating something. Maybe another Universe.'' I answered. As if to prove my point, a section of the grassy fields of Kharkoul started to swirl together into three seperate things. They all had blueish-white, small bodies, small arms, very small feet with no legs, and two long tails with a plate shape on the ends, engraved with a red gemstone. One of the trio had pink hair which came out in four floppy crests along its head. It had amber-colored eyes. Another had yellow hair that was held tightly in a dome shape. Its eyes were closed, and it had yellow eyelids. The last one had blue crests on its head. One was an ovaloid dome that stuck straight up, and it had two others hanging near its eardrums that had white bottoms. A red gemstone was implanted in its forehead. It also had amber eyes. Xyrule opened his eyes and stood up, walking to the trio. He notices us watching, and beckoned for us to come closer. We obeyed.

''Hello, Flarimist. Hello, Dillemel. Would you like to name these three? They are Emotion, Knowledge, and Willpower of humans and Pokemon respectively.'' he said.

''Okay.'' we replied. Dillemel decided one name first.

''The pink-haired one is Mesprit.'' he said. Xyrule nodded.

''Mesprit, the Guardian of Emotion.'' he said. Mesprit smiled, and went through the Gateway, to spread emotion through the Complex.

Dillemel and I simoultaneously came up with the next one. ''The yellow one is Uxie.'' we said.

''Uxie, the Guardian of Knowledge.''

I thought of the last as Uxie disappeared. ''Azelf, the Guardian of Willpower.'' I said. Azelf smiled, bowed to me, and left.

''Let it be so.'' Xyrule said, and looked at me. ''Listen closely, Flarimist. You have named the Spirit of Will. That makes it yours. Do not abuse this power. Do not bend the will of others for your own needs. Will is the most powerful Guardian. Remember this, Flarimist. It will guide you in your Destiny.'' He turned to Dillemel now. ''And Dillemel, remember to control Emotion wisely. Never let one emotion rule over others. You both have a great future ahead of you. Use the powers of Knowledge together, to learn the wisdom needed to be great rulers.''

''What is my Destiny?'' Dillemel asked. He was a very curious child, just like I was at that age. Xyrule sighed.

''You are Destined to be the boundary between Good and Evil. You will hold the balance between me and the Emperor of the Bottom Realms.''

''But there is no Emperor of the Bottom Realms.'' I interjected.

''That is because he hasn't grown yet. His name, is Flarimist.''

_That is the moment I realized Xyrule didn't care for me. That is the moment my innocent young mind began to twist, changing into the evil thing I am now. Remember, don't trust anyone. Only trust yourself. Everyone else is your enemy. They all wish to betray you. My home now is built from the most powerful feelings: hate and burning anger. And I haven't lost my grudge against the Power Plate. When Xyrule said I was to be his greatest Enemy, he unknowingly created his own destruction. I vowed, all those millennia ago, that I would have my revenge. I would tear Kharkoul down, pebble by pebble, and take the throne. I will be the new King of the Complex. The Xyrullean Complex, under my rule, will be destroyed. I will create my own world, one where the residents will never have to feel betrayal. I will be hated, no doubt, but what does my Emperorship give me? Love? No, it gives me lonliness. My Universe will be pure, cleansed of the negativity Xyrule gave his Complex._

_I have been planning for fourteen billion years. I __will not fail__._


	3. Welcome To Palmo

"Are you ready to get on the plane for Palmo, Ash?" Ash Ketchum, age 16, of Pallet Town, was getting ready to board the plane to the sixth and last Pokémon region, after finishing his Unova journey. But little did he know that this was not going to be a fairly straightforward journey like most of the others, this would be his biggest and craziest one of all!

"Yes, Professor Oak. Let me just get my Pokéballs," Ash answered, collecting a number of small, multicolored balls with buttons on the middle, his Pokéballs, the only way to catch and train wild Pokémon.

"Are Iris and Cilan already there?"

"Yes, they're waiting for you." Oak replied.

"Okay, I've got everything. I'm ready. Come on, Pikachu." His starter, a small electric mouse, was his greatest friend and never went inside its Pokéball.

"Pi-Pikachu!" it replied, jumping on its friend's shoulder, its favorite spot.

On the plane, Ash went to where there was an Axew waving like crazy to get his attention.

Iris reassured her Pokémon, a small, tusked, olive dinosaur that stood up on two legs.

"SEATBELTS ON, EVERYONE." the intercom blared. There was a flurry of commotion as people put away their luggage and buckled into their seats.

The plane engines turned on, and it moved along the runway. When the plane was up in the air, Ash decided to go to sleep for the three-day-long trip.

Three days later...

Ash felt a tap on his leg and woke up.

"We're almost there. Palmo is right there." Iris said. Ash looked out the window, and held his breath at the sight of the amazing region. The flat, icy plains of the Southern Glaciers slowly rose, until they became the Pokearth-famous Whistling Mountains at Palmo's north, rising to the amazing Mounts Tambora and Flarimist. The Xyrule River flowed from Mount Flarimist, ending near the Mesquite Islands above the Southern Glaciers' reach. Deep Forest, a forest that made Eterna Forest look like a bucketful of barren desert, stretched from the Pokemon Valley to the Xyrule River Delta, which flowed into the Palmmo Ocean. To the Xyrule River's left sat the Desert of Life, which became the Badlands in its north. Both of Palmo's two great Oceans, the Palmo Ocean and the Sea of Legends were a brilliant blue-green, and Ash could see pods of Delphin jumping in the waves, and he even saw one or two Liopela, with just its long neck reaching out of the water. The Triplet Islands in the Palmo Ocean seemed to glow with the radience of the Staticor, Sunpran, and Projectyle who lived in huge numbers there.

The plane dipped and began to rock slightly due to more turbulence as it neared Darna City, a fairly large city that lay in the center area of Palmo, and was located right next to the Sea of Legends, the largest of Palmo's two great oceans.

Ash felt the smooth jolt as the back wheels hit the runway, followed by the front. The plane coasted to a stop, and the door was opened.

''You may now leave the plane. Thank you again for choosing Air Lugia.'' the captain's voice said. The seats began to empty as passengers left.

''We're finally here. Palmo Champion, here I come!'' Ash said, jumping out of his seat. Cilan and Iris got up as well, got their luggage (Ash just had his backpack), and got into the aisle to get out, followed closely by Ash.

Ash turned his hat to block out the summer sunlight and looked at them.

He smiled. ''We're in Palmo!'' he said happily. Iris and Cilan both laughed, and nodded.

''So, where is the Palmo Professor's lab?'' Cilan asked. Ash looked at an atlas of Palmo that he had gotten in the plane.

''It's about two miles from here, near the center of the city.'' he said, walking towards the airport building. He and his friends exited, and they followed Ash, who was focusing his complete attention on the map and ended up running into a power line. ''I'm okay!'' he said, getting back up. Cilan and Iris laughed, and they continued walking, though Ash put more attention into not walking into things now, while still watching the map.

After a while, they stopped walking. Ash folded the map and put it in his pocket. ''Well, here we are. The Palmo Professor's lab.'' he said. His friends nodded, and they walked in.

From the inside, Ash would have never guessed this building was a Pokemon research lab. The walls were filled in every inch with drawings, both of Pokemon and people. The floor was made with colored gold and emerald green tiles.

Near the back of the lab, there was a desk between two doors that could have been any color had they not been completely covered with drawings. Ash could only tell they were doors because they both had a knob that just poked out from the drawings.

At the strangely-carved desk, which seemed to lean to one side but had a perfectly level top, a woman who wore a bright green shirt and jeans was sorting through papers. She looked at us and set the papers down.

''May I help you?'' she asked.

''We're here to get our Starter Pokemon from Palmo's Professor. Can we see her?'' Cilan asked. Ash was currently stuck on staring at a drawing of a strange blue Pokemon that had a prominent circle on its chest. The circle had a snake that layed in a spiral with its head on the outside. Ash caught the snake's eye, which seemed to wink at him. He shook off the notion and looked at the woman at the desk.

''Ah, so you're the ones who were registered for today! My name is Professor Olive. What are your names and ages?'' the woman asked. She must have noticed the trio's expressions, because she said, ''I know I don't look much like the other Professors. But this is me. It goes well with the fact that Palmo is wildly different from other regions. Now, I need your names and ages, and I can show you the new Starters.''

''I'm Cilan Striaton, aged 21.'' Cilan said.

''I'm Iris Dragonfriend, age 12.'' Iris said.

''And I'm Ash Ketchum, aged 16.'' Ash said. Professor Olive smiled, went from behind the desk, and opened one of the hidden doors.

''Follow me.'' she said. Ash, Iris, and Cilan followed.

Inside, the lab looked more like a lab. It was filled with white shelves that held hundreds of different kinds of chemicals. The entire back wall looked like some kind of giant computer. The only difference from other labs was that this one was extremely messy. There were chemical spills on the floor and some shelves had collapsed, with shards of broken test tubes underneath.

''Sorry about the mess. I can never find time to clean it up.'' Professor Olive said. ''Don't step there. It will burn right through your shoe into your foot. Hydrochloric, you know.''

Ash jerked his foot from an orange spill on the ground. Professor Olive laughed.

''I was kidding. It's just dyed water.'' she said. She reached the giant computer and pressed a hidden button on the wall. The computer hummed to life.

''What is your command?'' the computer asked robotically.

''Open Storage Cell S.'' Professor Olive said. The computer beeped, and the floor next to it opened. A table with a dome over the top rose out. Under the dome, three Pokemon Eggs sat on a velvet-like padding. Professor Olive pressed a button on the side of the table, and the dome shifted into the table, leaving the Pokemon Eggs out. ''Palmo gives an extra challenge to new Trainers by giving them Pokemon Eggs to start instead of Pokemon. This steely blue one is Dragonor. The grasslike one that has two fanglike dents in it is Stark. And this cloudy purple one is Darkmor. All of these have their own strengths and weaknesses. Dragonor is good for strategies but not as good with physical combat. Stark is excellent with physical moves but it has a low Defense. And Darkmor is good with Special Attack and Defense, but it only listens to high-levelled Trainers. Choose your Starter wisely.''

Iris, of course, immediately picked up the Dragonor Egg, and cradled it as best as she could in her arms. Axew sniffed it to see what it might be.

Cilan and Ash took longer to decide.

''It's unusual to have a Shadow-Type or Dragon-Type Starter Pokemon, isn't it?'' Ash asked. Professor Olive nodded.

''Palmo is an unusual place. You'll see that easily while you're here.'' she responded.

''Ash, is it alright if I choose Stark?'' Cilan asked.

''It's fine. I think I want to start with a challenge anyway.'' Ash said. Cilan nodded, picking up Stark's Egg. Ash picked the shadowy Darkmor Egg up, expecting it to be heavy. He was surprised when it barely had any weight at all.

''Well, now that you've chosen your Pokemon, I can give you your Trainer Cards and you can begin. Computer, activate Ash Ketchum, Iris Dragonfriend, and Cilan Striaton as Palmo Trainers.''

The giant computer beeped again and three cards came from a hidden slot in the wall. Professor Olive caught them and gave them to Ash, Cilan, and Iris.

''And now, you're officially Palmo Pokemon Trainers. Here are your Pokedexes. All you have to do is activate them with your Trainer Cards, and they will be able to tell you almost anything about Palmo wherever you are. They run on solar power, so they don't lose any power. Good luck!'' Professor Olive said, giving Ash and Cilan a thin, black Pokedex and Iris a thin blue one. Ash and his friends smiled and walked out of the lab, followed by Professor Olive.

When they got near the Darna City hotel, they were greeted by the town Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy, who had a strange-looking Pokémon next to her, who was a pale tan-brown color and looked at everything around it with the same happy expression.

"Hello, and welcome to Darna City. You should know who we are from our relatives in other regions. This is Argol." Jenny said, pointing to the strange Pokémon.

"Argol Argol Argol!" it said, excitedly.

"We can show you to your hotel where you will be staying for the first week of your journey here. You'll need to adjust to Palmo better than most regions because we have a much more diverse climate, being in all of the biomes." Joy informed the trio. Ash, Cilan, and Iris simultaneously looked in their bags for Pokémon Coins, the currency of the Pokémon world.

"Oh, don't worry about paying. Professor Oak already paid all expenses for you three. You'll need some money later on, though, after the first week or so." Jenny assured them, seeing their reaction.

"Wow, Professor Oak sure went through a lot of trouble to get us here." Cilan told him.

"Yeah." Ash and Iris agreed (In this rewrite, I don't want them arguing).

"The bus to the hotel is here, and the driver doesn't like to wait." Jenny said.

At the hotel, they went to their rooms, Nurse Joy having given them their keys. The rooms were side-by-side; Ash's being in the middle. After dropping their stuff on the beds, they went into the hall and swapped ideas about the next two or three years here in Palmo.

"Good," Jenny and Joy said at the same time, "They won't have any trouble with each other at all here."

When they got tired of talking, they went back in their rooms and noticed a map of Palmo lying on the beds. It was only one-sided, so they could use the other side for anything they might need to write down. Ash just tossed his back onto the bed and fell asleep without unpacking or changing, even though it was only noon. Iris started drawing sketches of Axew and Druddigon, who she let out of his Pokéball, on the back of the map. Cilan set his neatly in the nightstand next to the bed and started pacing across the room, thinking. After a while, Iris had finished her sketches and decided to talk to her friends.

"Ash? Cilan?" she started calling, a little quietly. She was answered with a soft snore from Ash's room and a pause in the footsteps coming from Cilan's. Feeling left out, she left the room and checked their doors. Ash's was open, but he seemed to be fast asleep. Cilan's was half open, and she could hear him mumbling to himself. She decided to try Cilan's room first. She opened the door the rest of the way as quietly as she could, and stuck her head through.

"Cilan, can I talk with you for a second?" she asked.

"Okay." he replied, "What about?"

"I just wanted to talk. Ash is asleep, so I came here first. I just wanted to say thanks for staying with us for Palmo. It's very confusing here, but I don't know why." she said.

"It's the atmosphere. Palmo's three days isolated from Unova alone, so it's really different from any other region." Cilan said. Iris smiled.

"That Argol was really cute." Iris said, changing the subject.

"What's going on?" asked a sleepy-sounding voice from the hallway.

"Iris came in here because you were asleep." Cilan explained.

"Sorry. My head just hurts a little. It's something about Palmo's atmosphere."

"Same here." Iris said, getting up from the bed.

"I'm going to go back to my room now and work some more on my drawings, okay?" she told them.

"Sure, you sound like you need a rest, anyway. I'm going back to my room to work on something."

"What?" Cilan couldn't resist asking.

"A project involving my Pokédex. I'm going to try to decode the system and work out how many Pokémon are in this region and what they're called."

"Ash, you know you're hopeless with technology." Iris reminded him.

"I know, but I want to learn how to work this region's Pokédex. It's really complicated this time. Also, can you help me understand something that happened while I was asleep?" Ash asked.

"Sure, what?"

"While I was asleep, I had a dream. It was about a strange shadow thing with glowing red eyes, which were the only parts of its face that I could see over this strange semimetal helmet that it had on. Anyway, it appeared in my dream and told me, in a very deep voice, to beware of something. I don't know what, because I woke up before it could tell me." he revealed.

"It was Darkell." A new voice had come from the hallway, "I am Aran, and I have been looking for Darkell for my entire life, to stop his evil ways."

"Darkell? I think that I've heard that name before…" Cilan said, lost in thought, "Now I remember! That same thing happened to me a few months ago, when your Scraggy hatched, Ash. It told me 'I am Darkell. Do not fear me. Beware of the traitor.' I still can't figure out what that means, though." Cilan recalled.

"A traitor! Huh, the only traitor near here is Darkell." Aran mumbled, just loud enough for the rest to here.

"Now, if you keep on talking like that, then you can just get out!" Iris snapped, "Stop assuming Darkell's bad just because of his name!"

"Iris!" Ash and Cilan said simultaneously.

"I know what she means, actually, and I would stop trying to defeat Darkell, if he was less evil, and I didn't have a whole team of trainers who all hate Darkell." Aran said.

"This sounds a lot like Darkrai all over again." Ash whispered to his friends.

"Who?" Aran asked, not sure what was going on.

"Nothing, Aran."

"I have to go now. I found another clue yesterday as to where Darkell is hiding. Would you like to come and help me?" Aran said, changing the subject a little.

"Should we?" Ash whispered to the others.

"It couldn't hurt, I guess," Cilan answered.

"We'll go." Iris replied.

"Good. Now, here's a GPS for each of you, so you don't get lost in the Dark Forest." Aran informed them.

"Dark Forest? It sounds spooky." Iris shivered a little, "Now I don't know now if I want to go or not."

"Oh, it is. I can still remember before I started training Pokémon, it was so dark at the forest, but bright everywhere else. It was full of the screams of Dark and Dragon type Pokémon. It was…" Aran started.

"When do we go?" Iris interrupted.

"She loves Dragon types." Cilan explained.

"I can tell." Aran answered, "Well, let's go."

At Dark Forest, they could see what Aran meant by the forest being the only dark thing in the area. They could barely see ten feet into the forest, and Aran was right about the screams. They had to grab Iris by her shirt to keep her from running into the dragon-infested forest, because they had no idea what was in there, and they were sure that anything there was probably dangerous as well. While they were pushing Iris back into the jeep, they were completely unaware of a set of eyes watching them from the dark leaves. Pure red eyes.


	4. A Meeting With The Devil

When they got Iris back in the car, Aran started it up again and headed for the forest's most open spot for entry. Their first reaction to the texture of the air and leaves was a sudden shiver, which had nothing to do with cold. Cilan decided that he wanted a sample of the leaves (being a botanist as well as a trainer-connoisseur), took out a small pocketknife that he always carried with him, and started to cut one of the enormous leaves.

"Don't! If you do that, Cilan, you will be cursed! It's as much a part of this forest as sand is part of a desert!" Aran suddenly warned.

Cilan nearly dropped his knife on Ash's leg, who was sitting right next to him, but caught it just in time, flipping it closed and replacing it in his pocket faster than you could say "Dark" (he is also a very good acrobat).

Ash didn't even realize that Cilan had the knife until it was safely in his pocket. All of a sudden, a piercing scream broke through the gloom, making everyone jump in their seats.

"It's Darkell. I can feel it." Aran whispered, just loud enough for the rest to hear.

"It sounds more like a dying animal than a shadow being to me." Ash said trivially.

"Did you have to say it that way?" whined Iris, who was afraid of anything to do with death, especially when it comes to animals, and had a very pale face at that remark.

"Sorry, Iris." Ash apologized, and then turned to Aran, "That wasn't Darkell, Aran. I've been a trainer for long enough that I can recognize a wild Dusknoir's False Tears move when I hear one."

"Oh, and what's a Dusknoir doing in Palmo, Ash?" Aran challenged.

"Okay, break it up, you two. You're starting to fight so much that you're almost like brothers." Iris said.

Then, the car suddenly ground to a halt.

"What happened?" Ash asked.

"I'll check." Aran replied, "The car ran into some loose mud. I don't think that we can get it out, though. Come see yourself." Everyone got out to see.

"You're right; we can never get it out. How are we supposed to get through this jungle now?" Iris observed.

"We'll walk. Get the supplies that we'll need from the trunk of the car. There are enough boots and clothing for everyone. We could be here awhile." Aran instructed.

"Ugh, lost in a scary forest with death screams and evil Pokémon, how are we going to get out of this one?" Iris said, exasperated.

"Uh, guys, did you just happen to see a pair of green eyes staring at us from over there?" Cilan asked, obviously scared, pointing to a patch of leaves.

"No, maybe you're just imagining it." Ash answered, slightly doubtful.

"Go Away!" a deep, yet high-pitched at the same time, said, making everyone jump into the lower branches of the trees.

"What was that? Was it Darkell?" Iris said, shaking.

"No, it was too loud and too high-pitched to be Darkell." Ash answered, remembering the voice in his dream.

"GO AWAY!"

"There it is again. Where's it coming from?" Cilan shook, the first time since the team got to Palmo.

"It's getting louder." Iris said, shaking like crazy. They heard the yell a few more times, until, a few minutes later, a small creature popped out from the undergrowth.

"Awww, it's so cute." Iris said, noticing the creature.

"Cute" was not the best word for it. It was about one foot tall, was a pale shade of green, had fairly large horns jutting out from its skull, walked on all fours, and had a sneer plastered onto its face. When it heard Iris's comment, it looked straight at them. Its eyes showed great intelligence, but also great mystery.

"Click!" came a sound. Ash pulled out his Pokédex, which had made the noise.

"Xorro, the Angel Pokemon. Xorro is believed to live in large numbers with Xyrule. No more information." It said mechanically.

"Xorro Xorro!" it said, as if answering the machine. Then, turning its head back to the newcomers in its forest, it looked at them in a way that made it impossible to look away from its green eyes.

"I am Xorro. Get away from my pack now!" it said.

"It can talk!" Cilan said, finally breaking away from the hypnotic spell.

"Xorro!" a new, even deeper voice said, "I will judge the intruders. Get back in the pack!" The new Pokémon looked up and down at the trio and Aran and then closed its eyes, after which every human there felt a sensation like being tickled in their brains.

"They are all safe," it said.

"A-are you a-a Pokémon?" Iris finally managed to say.

"My name is Xyrule. I am a Pokémon, but do not expect me to appear in your Pokédex, as I do not show on any machine. Come, I have been waiting for you." Xyrule explained, motioning to a patch of leaves that looked slightly darker than the others. When the team went through, everyone immediately noticed a change in background. The land was a grassy slope, with a bright light, of a different quality than the sun, surrounding the landscape.

"This is the home of my Xorro and I. There is only one Xyrule at a time, so there are plenty of Xorro everywhere here. We call this area Karkoul, which means "sacred land" in our ancient language." Xyrule explained.

Xyrule, you did show up on my Pokédex, see?" Ash noticed, showing Xyrule the information.

"Xyrule, the God Pokémon. Its power is unmatchable in any battles, and it has no weaknesses. It is believed to be the Creator of all dimensions and life within the collection of Universes known as the Xyrullean Complex." The Pokédex said, strangely blinking as it did so.

"How does it pick up my aura? No machine can, and I don't remember allowing it to sense me. Maybe…" Xyrule started to say.

"Maybe what?" Cilan demanded.

"Nothing."

"Are you the one that created Arceus, Xyrule?" Ash asked.

"I did, but this body didn't. It is getting dark. You may camp here if you wish. I have made beds for you to sleep on." Xyrule said cryptically,then changed the subject.

It was now midnight. Ash was lying in one of the hammocks that Xyrule had made for them, fully awake. He was staring at the full moon.

"Whoa!" came a shout all of a sudden, breaking the tranquility.

Iris had fallen off of her hammock, again. She would probably just get back on and fall asleep, just like the other five times. Ash thought to himself.

She did exactly as he thought, so he adjusted his position in his hammock and stared at the moon again.

"What are you thinking about?" came Iris's voice from beside his hammock.

"Nothing, I just can't get to sleep. You go back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." Ash replied, jumping up at the sudden sound.

"Okay." Iris said back, returning to her bed.

I think I'll take a walk, just to make me tired. Ash thought in silence.

So, as soon as Iris was asleep, he got up and went out in the moonlit forest next to their beds. About ten minutes later, Ash saw a strange, black-and-red thing appear next to him. He stopped to look, and when he did, he wished he hadn't. The thing was uglier and creepier than anything he had ever seen. It had glowing red eyes, a melted-looking head (with no face), and a body like a gargoyle. He then felt a strange tug in his mind, and then he felt no more.

"Dinner, Dragor." The thing said, in an evil, raspy voice. A large dragon, almost as ugly as his master, came out and began to feast. His master had no feelings about this murder, as he had emptied half of Palmo's population at this point.


	5. Day Of The Dead

"A-Ash! A-Ash!" Iris was calling. It was morning.

"What's going on?" Cilan said, sleepily, from his bed.

"Ash is missing! He wasn't in his bed!" Iris almost yelled in his face.

"He's probably exploring or something. Maybe looking for new Pokémon. You know how he is. Don't worry so much." Cilan answered, ears ringing from Iris's yelling.

"Should I check the forest?" Iris asked.

"Sure, maybe you could ask Xyrule for some help." Cilan suggested.

"Okay!" Iris said, heading for the spot where Xyrule said he was at this general time.

"Xyrule, can you help me search for Ash in the forest?" she inquired the powerful creature.

"Yes, I can lend one of my Xorro to help you." he answered, without emotion.

"Thanks!" Iris said, excitedly.

Only one day here and already Xyrule was treating them like old friends! So Iris chose one of the Xorro and headed toward the forest. After searching for about an hour, she came about a small clearing.

"That's weird. It's like something burned away the plants here." She noted.

She then saw a reddish pile with a hat, of all things, next to it. She looked closer, and noticed the design of the hat. It looked a lot like-

"CILAN! XYRULE! XORRO! ANYBODY! COME HERE QUICK!" she yelled when she realized what it was, and then saw the face of the pile, a face she recognized very clearly.

At that point, Xyrule and Cilan rushed there, or really teleported from Xyrule's powers.

"What?" they both said, simultaneously.

"Look!" Iris said, pointing first to the body, and then to the hat.

"No…It can't be…" Cilan said, recognizing the features.

"It is. It's Ash!" Iris said, bursting into tears over the discovery. Xyrule bent over the body, examining it.

"This was a murder, by an intelligent being. Whatever did this knew exactly what he was doing and why he needed to." Xyrule deduced from his observation.

"How do you figure that out?" Iris asked.

_"_I know all and see all." Xyrule said.

"okay." Iris squeaked between sobs.

Xyrule telepthically picked up Ash's body, and walked beside Cilan and Iris, who was crying heavily.

He looked at her. "Do not despair for him, Iris Dragonfriend. He is still alive within your heart. And I will resurrect him soon. Do not worry." he said. Iris looked at him.

"You would do that?" she asked. Xyrule nodded.

While they walked to the main campsite for Xyrule's home, many of the Xorro swarmed around their path as they walked.

"They sense a great loss." said Xyrule.

"Wait, if they sense something drastically changed, does that mean…" Cilan started.

"I think so." Xyrule said, reading his thoughts, "Our meeting was no accident."

While Xyrule was talking to the others, Ash's killer was in a tree watching the conversation. When they went back through the portal, he turned and faced his dragon, who immediately shrank himself to the size of a kitten.

"Come, Dragor. Xyrule knows of our presence. We must leave here for a while, until our little trap springs." The monster said.

He pointed at the clearing, which he had caused for just this purpose, and a jet of dark energy shot out of his hand, creating a shadow portal into the Bottom Realms, his domain. For this creature was the darkest of all, a reverse of Xyrule that had gone completely evil. He was Flarimist, king of the shadows, nicknamed, by himself, the Devil. And he was here for a reason. A dark, evil reason.

When Flarimist opened the portal, he didn't realize that he was being watched by another shadow being: the reason that Dark Forest got its name, the being Darkell. He has been on order to watch the forest for so long that only he and his master remember his true purpose. He had never known why, until he sensed new energy enter the forest.

This is why I was put here. I was to protect my son. But I have failed. I have failed my master. I have failed my son. I have failed the world. I have failed myself. He thought, looking up, and as he did so, his eyes went a little bit bluer and his shadow being a little bit more solid, but it went back to normal as he slipped into the shadows of the night.

That night, as Cilan, Aran, and Iris lay sleeping in their hammocks, Xyrule went to the shrine that had been built for Ash, who they had laid on it, and went to the form of the fallen human. He made a golden tear, which he placed on the exact center of Ash's cold forehead, and laid down on the floor next to him and froze into a meditative pose, closing his green eyes.

When Darkell rose back out of the darkness, he was next to the same shrine that Xyrule was meditating at on the other side. He approached cautiously toward the center, where Ash lay, and placed a clawed hand on the same place as Xyrule's tear had fallen.

"Ash, I have failed you. I will now give you one last gift, the greatest one I can give. I give you eternal peace." Darkell said, and when he did, a white light came from his clawed hand, and then Ash's physical body disappeared into a golden dust, which was swept away in the wind.

He didn't know then that part of Ash still existed within Xyrule's infinite knowledge. As soon as Darkell gave that last gift, Xyrule rose from the other side of the tomb and saw Darkell. He didn't look surprised at all.

"Darkell. I see that you have finally come to give your son your blessing for his last journey." Xyrule told him.

"I have failed you, master. I have nothing to live for now." Darkell confessed to his long-time friend and leader.

"You have not failed anyone. It wasn't your fault for this, and you could do nothing to stop this, so don't blame yourself for it. Flarimist was wrong to do this, but he unknowingly has played a part in his own destruction. You therefore have succeeded, for you refrained from trying to prevent him from his revenge. You will see your son again, but you must wait. But for now, you have one more part to play in this war for the world. Here's the plan." Xyrule told Darkell, placing his hand on the shadow's shoulder, and told the plan.

After he was told, Darkell sank back into the shadows, and returned to his home in the forest.

The next morning, Iris was the first one up again. She went directly to Ash's resting place, but when she got there, he was gone.

"Cilan! Aran! Xyrule! Ash is missing!" she screamed.

Everyone, including the entire Xorro pack, came over to the tomb.

"There's no sign that he was dragged, because there's nothing to show for that. It's like he just disappeared into thin air." Cilan said, after a close examination.

"But how?" Iris said, starting to cry again.

"There is one hope." Xyrule said grimly.

"What?" Iris said, through gasps.

"I have all of his memories within my mind. I can recreate him, as I promised.' Xyrule responded. Iris nodded immediately, and Cilan did, after thinking for a second.

Xyrule's eyes closed, and one more golden tear came from his eye. When it hit the ground, the grass and dirt near it began to swirl into a six-foot-high column. When it disappeared, Ash stood there.

"Iris? Cilan? Xyrule? Aran?" he said.

"Ash!" everyone said simultaneously, "You're back!"

"When did I leave?" Ash asked, clearly confused.

"You were dead! We just got you back with Xyrule's powers! Don't you remember anything?" Iris said.

"The last thing that I remember was a pair of red eyes, then a tug in my brain." Ash thought back, shivering as he did so.

Nobody noticed at that time, but his eyes were green, not brown.


	6. Savior For A Lifetime

After Ash's resurrection was complete, somewhere deep in the forest a shadow portal opened, burning everything in that area. Flarimist came out, followed by Dragor, who was still kitten-sized, but much less bloated, having nearly digested his last meal.

"How?" Flarimist said angrily, shooting a Flare Ball at a passing Algor, blasting the poor Pokémon to bits, "How did that miserable human get back? This ruins our plans completely. I'll have to reschedule. Of course. Darkell. That puny weakling is trying to keep his son alive no matter what. I'll have to terminate him before I can get that kid."

"Ash, can I try something to test your strength? Because I've never used my resurrectional powers before, I have to test your mentality." Xyrule called.

"Don't you already know?" Ash asked.

"I wish to see if you know." Xyrule responded.

"Sure." Ash said, stretching his legs, which were still a little stiff from being dead.

He went over to where Xyrule was sitting, next to a lake that Xyrule had called Lake Darsh. Xyrule then closed his eyes and Ash felt the now-familiar feeling of dizziness.

"It worked perfectly, except for the fact that you have a stronger aura around you, from where I cannot place." Xyrule deduced.

"I think that I've noticed too. Everything seems…brighter. Everything also has a slight fog around it, too. And a few hours ago, I was sitting at the edge of this lake and saw that my eyes had changed color, from brown to green. What's happening to me?" Ash revealed.

"Green? I think that I know now what is happening. Somehow, your aura has mixed and mutated with mine. You now have powers that you never had and will need help to control. I can help, if you wish." Xyrule explained.

While the conversation was going on, Flarimist was listening in on them. When he heard that Ash had part of Xyrule's life force inside of him had made him very angry, but he calmed down a little when he heard that Ash didn't know how to use his new powers.

"If he can't use his powers, then he can't protect himself from danger and that makes him still mortal." Flarimist said to himself, disappearing into the shadows.

Darkell, of course, was still following Flarimist.

Ash? But…he's dead. Flarimist killed him. Darkell thought. Wait… He looked and saw…Ash.

He rubbed his eyes and still he saw him. He then felt a Shadow Blast go through him. He calculated at the speed of light the trajectory of the shot. It was headed directly toward Ash. Darkell immediately took action. He ran towards Ash as fast as he could. Ash just stared, frozen from shock. Darkell finally got to Ash, and blocked the shot. Ash could see the shadow cloak get more solid until it was the same material as the helmet was. The Shadow Blast hit directly at the middle of Darkell's back. The force of the shot made Darkell's helmet loosen, until it fell. It bounced three times, and rolled to Ash's feet. Ash's eyes moved to Darkell's face and saw…himself. The face was exactly like Ash's, except that it was full of pain. Darkell doubled over onto the ground, curled up in pain. He had a terrible circular burn on his back, which was slowly turning white with foam. Ash sat down and held Darkell's head up. Darkell set his arm on Ash's face.

"I love you…my son." he said, and then he died, curled up in Ash's arms.

"Father…" Ash started, "I've waited so long, suffered so much, to find you. Don't die now, just as soon as I meet you."

A tear came from Ash's face and landed on his father's forehead, right in the center. When it hit, a small drop of liquid came from the area between Darkell's eyes. Ash picked it up on his finger, gently, and looked at it. It had a blue fog inside, with a green fog inside the blue. Aura. Ash recognized the texture and movements of it.

"That is his memories, locked in aura. I think that he wanted you to have it. I remember that he told me a year ago to give his memories to his son, once I found the son, you." Xyrule said.


	7. Revelation

"I'm home!" David said.

"Hi, honey. Good day at work by the sound of it, huh?" his wife, Delia, said.

"Yep. I beat 15 people at the gym today. Got 1,000,000 extra pcs for a new record. How's Ash?"

"He's playing in his room. I'll tell him you're home." Delia replied.

"Daddy!" Ash, age 2, came running into the hallway.

"My son!" David said, picking his only child up into his arms, "Daddy got a big raise today!"

"Money!" Ash yelled excitedly.

He understood how important the big raise was, as his dad worked at a Pokémon gym.

"Mommy bought new Pokémon toys for me today! Wanna see?" Ash asked his dad.

His Pokémon toys were his favorite thing that he owned and he played with them every day.

"I got a Victini and Rakuaza now!" Those were his absolute favorite Pokémon. David understood him, even with his strange way of talking.

"Guess what?" Maybe one day you'll see the real thing! Won't that be exciting! We can all go!" David loved his family more than anything and gave them big things, very special things, whenever he could.

But his biggest promise is that someday, they would go around the world and find all of the legendary Pokémon. He still says that he'll keep that promise whenever he can get enough money.

"I drew a Mewtwo for you today, too!" Ash showed his dad a scribble that looked like nothing, but David liked it anyway.

"I'll hang it on my wall at work with the others." David answered his favorite kid.

Little did he know, but that would be the last that he would ever see his son again.

"I have to go back to work now, for another few hours. I'll see you at dinner, everyone! Go ahead and play with Girder, Ash, I bet he wants to train with you!"

Girder was Ash's stuffed Gigalith, who Ash played with all the time.

"Okay, see you, daddy!"

At the Gym, called Monolith Gym, for the Rock- and Fighting-type Pokémon, David was opening back up. The next person that came in called himself "Flay R. Mist", and he carried an Eevee on his shoulder. But he was not here to battle.

"You insolent fool! I curse you to a life of peril! I curse you to a life of sorrow! I curse you to a life in the shadows!" he said, and black sparks flew from his fingers and hit David in the chest, sending him flying backwards into the wall behind him.

He was knocked unconscious by the force of the impact.

"Come, Dragor. Let us leave this dump and go back home." he said, shooting more sparks, creating a purple-black portal: a portal to the Bottom Realms.

He went through and was gone. The sign for the gym flipped from open to closed.

When David awoke, he had no idea where he was. He had a headache.

"What just happened? Where am I? The last thing that I remember is getting hit by a black spark. That, that thing tried to kill me for nothing. He must have succeeded in that curse, for this does look like shadows." David got up, and found himself back at the Gym.

It was nighttime.

"What? How did I do that?"

When he looked at himself, he saw nothing human. He was made of shadows, for he could sweep his hand through his body, and his face was covered in a helmet, which he couldn't get off. He looked in a mirror, and he saw no face through the helmet, except for two pure red eyes.

"I can't show at home like this. Delia would die of fright, and Ash… No, I won't go home, I'll make a call saying that I must leave them, and then I'll go live in a forest, where there's lots of shade. Maybe people won't see me, then. I'll go to Light Forest, in Palmo. It's far away, and it's big, so people won't just wander around and die of fright if they see me." David said to himself.

He made the one call then.

At his house, after the call, Ash saw Delia crying in her room.

"What's wrong, mommy?" he asked, curling up with her.

"It's your dad. He's left us all alone! He just called and said he'd never come back!" she told him, crying even harder.

David now had travelled through the shadows. He was at the border of Light Forest. But he miscalculated in his trajectory and messed up his direction. He had landed right in front of a passing person, who immediately screamed, causing everyone around her to scream. David, ears hurting, quickly apologized, slipping back into the shadows. He reappeared in the middle of the forest, where the Pokemon there screamed as well.

"Sigh..." David said, feeling completely alone in the world now.

"Well, if I have to be a hated shadow being, I might as well have a better name." David said.

But you love your name, and so does your family. They need you, and you need them. Do you want to be cut off from them, too? His conscience was nagging him. But it started slipping away as if it were paper in the wind. Soon, David was an evil, heartless being with plans for revenge. His eyes had turned from blue to purest red. He terrorized the forest for years. He earned the forest a new name: Dark Forest. But something still existed inside him. Something wanted to get out...

"I can find him, I know I can." Ash, now 7, told his mom.

"Honey, you know that he can't be found. And you know that he told you to always go for his promise, no matter what happened. You can bring him back inside you, but nowhere else." Delia told her son for the millionth time that day. Little did she know, but that remark would change him forever. She didn't know that that comment would make him more determined than ever to bring his father back, whether physically or spiritually, it didn't matter. She had no idea that that little phrase would change the course of history, causing a massive disruption in the Time-Space continuum. She didn't know that she had aided the return of David to their home once again. She couldn't have understood that that remark would aid to the end of Flarimist's long, evil slumber.

David felt the change in history the moment that Delia had uttered the first word of that life-changing saying. When he felt it, that something that had been itching to get out inside him suddenly snapped. He regained his long-lost conscience, making him suddenly see everything as it was before him. He also noticed a voice coming from the deepest corners of his mind.

"David, don't destroy the forest. Help rebuild, not destroy. I am Xyrule, king of the universe. Do not fear me. I want you to listen to me. You have a very important part to play in this war for the world. You must make people fear you, maybe have a couple who want to destroy you. Do not worry about them. You cannot be destroyed by humans. I want you to rename yourself, until the war is over. You are now called Darkell, king of the shadows. I give you my blessing. Good luck.

That voice. David, or Darkell, knew that voice from somewhere.

Think, think...

Now he remembered. The voice was Ash's, his only son.

I will find you, my son. I will find you if it takes the rest of my life. Darkell sent out thought waves in every direction.

I will find you.

"Mom, I think that I just had a vision. I saw a dark thing that said it would find me, no matter what." Ash told his mom, looking up from his movie that he was watching.

"Honey, you know that visions are always..."

"Fake. I know, Mom. You don't need to tell me every time. It was just so real though..." Ash interrupted.

"Master, do you think that I will ever get him back?" Darkell was asking in his dreams. They were the first dreams he had had in a very long time. They were still just dark voids with a few words or pictures stretched randomly throughout the emptiness, but his son was the sharpest of his dream-pictures.

"Yes, you will, I assure you. But you won't get him back until your purpose has been fulfilled. Watch over the forest. An ancient evil, older than time is coming to the world. Flarimist has returned. He will cause death and destruction if you don't go with your path. Follow your Destiny. Go through with Fate." Xyrule answered back.

"Ash, wake up!" Delia shook him in his bed, "You're going to be late!"

Ash, aged 10 now, jumped out of bed. This was his first day of his Pokémon journey.

"Thanks for reminding me, Mom. I've got to go, now! See you there!" Ash rushed to get ready.

He hurried out the door, still in his pajamas. At Professor Oak's Lab, Ash was about to choose his starter.

He chose Squirtle. Someone had taken it. He then chose Charmander. Someone had taken it. He asked for Bulbasaur. The Pokeball was empty.

"Are there any left?" Ash pleaded with the Professor.

"Well… There is one…" Oak said.

"What? Which is it? I'll take it!" Ash said.

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." Oak said, pulling a lever which opened a hidden compartment in the center of the table. There was a Pokeball in it, with a lightning bolt on the side.

"This is Pikachu, an electric mouse. But be warned, he is very troublesome." Oak said releasing the Pokémon.

"_Pikachu!_" it said, stretching its body around as if it had been in the Pokeball for a while.

"I'll take it. How bad can it be?" Ash said. Immediately, the Pikachu shot him with a Thunderbolt.

"Oh…" Ash said, covered in ashes, "Well, return. Thanks, Professor Oak!" Ash said, rushing out to show everyone his new starter.

"Sigh. He has no idea what he's getting himself into, does he, Chansey?" Oak said, looking at his Pokémon who helped him in his Lab.

"_Chansey!_" it said airily, going back to move the trays that it was relocating to the other side of the Lab.

When Ash was out of the Lab, he saw an old friend of his: Gary Oak, Professor Oak's grandson. He was showing off his new Squirtle to the crowd.

"Hi, Gary!" Ash said cheerily, "I got a Pikachu as my starter!"

"Really? Did Grandpa have to hide it away from losers like you?" Gary sneered at Ash.

"Why are you acting like that all of a sudden" Ash asked.

"Never mind, loser!" Gary said, thus starting a rivalry that would last for both of their entire journeys.

Ash saw his mom in the crowd, and ran up to her.

"I got a Pikachu, Mom!" Ash said excitedly, releasing it.

"Wow! He looks special. Electric-Type, right?"

Ash's mom had a new job as a Pokémon Gym trainer, working for and helping Brock, the Rock-Type Gym Leader in Pewter City, giving her a good knowledge for Pokémon types.

"Yes!" Ash said, "Return Pikachu!"

It didn't work. Ash tried again. And again. And again. Finally, he just gave up.

"It doesn't want to return. Weird." Ash observed, "Is that even possible?"

"I guess so." his mom said blankly.

"I'm ready to help keep Dad with us." Ash said, so only Delia could hear.

"Good, now you be the very best, like you've always wanted to be, honey. I'll see you sometime during your journeys, maybe." Delia answered, also whispering.

"_Darkell, soon, your son will come. You have only to wait._" Xyrule told his servant in his dreams.


	8. The Beginning Of The End

"**Soon, Dragor. Soon we will defeat Xyrule and his pathetic excuse for friends and this world will be ours. Can't you just feel it? Pain and death everywhere. Disease and destruction in every city on Pokearth. Ahh, it will be a glorious day. Everyone, everywhere in this universe will bow down to me, Flarimist, king of Evil.**"

"Dad…" Ash said after seeing the memories of his deceased father, "You never left us, only physically. Xyrule, who did this? I'll get him for this."

"_You can't. Flarimist did this, and he is much too strong. You haven't been trained to use your powers yet. He knows that Darkell is your weak spot. You have to move on, if you want to avenge him_." Xyrule explained sadly.

"Teach me, then!" Ash said, directly at Xyrule's face, almost yelling.

"_I can't teach you immediately, but I know something that will help you understand Flarimist more. It is an ancient legend, called The Legend Of Life And Death. Here it is:_

The Legend Of Life And Death

In the Beginning, there was a void. The only one in the void was Xyrule, the first life. He created a single egg, which hatched into a baby Arceus. Arceus had two older brothers. The youngest was named Dillemel. The oldest was named Flarimist, an evil being who loved only chaos and destruction. Xyrule fought it while Arceus created all dimensions, and when he was done, Xyrule exiled the new terror into Earth. The people of Earth were terrorized by the newcomer for thousands of years, and pleaded with Xyrule to ban him from their home. Xyrule agreed. He exiled Flarimist into the deepest parts of the world, called the Bottom Realms. There, Flarimist was put into a sleep that was meant to last for all eternity. The trance failed after only a few thousand years, when the Chosen One was born to destroy the evil and bring happiness forever to the universe. Flarimist had indeed awoken, but was trapped inside of his rotting Bottom Dimensions. He only could get out with the help of someone in the family tree of the new Chosen One. It is believed that if Flarimist got out, the entire universe would be in grave danger of collapse. No one who is still alive knows if this legend is true.

"So you see, Flarimist had to be banished from Earth to prevent the universe's downfall. He will not stop until he is ruler or until he is destroyed. We must prevent the first option from happening at all costs. He is pure evil, and is why bad things happen anywhere in the universe_._" Xyrule said, after he told the legend, "It's time to start your training."

"Okay, we'll start by teaching you Aura moves, as you already know how to use your Aura. This month's lessons will all help you adapt and build your Aura to any climate and opponent's condition. Watch me closely for the first lesson." Xyrule said, curling his arms into a full circle, "First, you must blank your mind. Then, you must imagine the target. Next, you must imagine your Aura Sphere hitting the target. Last, you must imagine yourself reenergizing after the attack."

He blasted a nearby tree into smithereens with his Aura Sphere (he weakened all of his attacks during training so that Ash would be able to see a more similar effect to his own attacks).

"Okay. Blank my mind." Ash's eyes closed, his arms instinctively forming into Lucario's Aura shooting position, with his arms in a broken circle, palms facing each other.

"Imagine the target." Ash said blankly, his arms, still in their position, moving toward another nearby tree.

"Imagine the shot." A small, greenish sphere issued from his arms, quickly.

"Move hitting the target." The Aura Sphere connected to the tree, blasting it to a crisp.

"Reenergize." Ash said, loosening up as he did so, putting his arms back into their positions at his side.

"Well, how did I do?" he asked, looking at Xyrule.

"Perfect at the first try. Look at the tree."

"Wow! It doesn't even seem like it ever existed!" Ash exclaimed.

A few months later, after Ash had perfected most moves, Xyrule thought it time for the hardest test of all: Tossing Ash off a cliff, and having Ash hit every target with any move that he has learned, without getting hurt.

"Are you sure that you want to do this, Ash? Because if you do, there is no turning back_._" Xyrule asked.

"I'm ready." Ash said, breathing deeply.

"Okay. Here we go." Xyrule said, picking up Ash with a Vine Whip, tossing him off the edge of the rock canyon, under which, 500 _miles_ down, was a valley. There were targets nearly everywhere, in the sky and on the ground.

"WOO-HOO!" Ash yelled, falling toward the bottom below. About halfway down, Ash used a Fly, shooting upward twice as far as the canyon was deep.

"Now why is he going away from the targets, I wonder? " Xyrule thought to himself, watching his student's progress and not really unsure.

Ten minutes later, his question was answered. Ash had gone into a freefall, straightening out into an arrow, gaining speed as he shot straight down into the abyss below.

"_He's using Pulse Meteor. I don't remember teaching him that move._" Xyrule realized.

Too late to stop it now, though. Ash had begun to show the characteristic asteroidal shape, with his body covered in the flaming smoke that all meteors had around them. Right before Ash hit the ground at a speed unmeasureable to anything, he stopped all of a sudden. The core that was around him kept going, though, until it hit the ground. The force of the impact created a mushroom cloud and an extremely powerful shock wave, blasting not only the targets, but the entire canyon into pieces. After the dust cloud disappeared, Ash walked out, unharmed, of the smoking debris field.

"_How did you do that? That Pulse Meteor is the strongest that I've ever seen. I can't even make that strong of a Shock Pulse after it._" Xyrule revealed.

"Really?" Ash said, collapsing. He started sweating uncontrollably.

"_Oh, no. I knew it. He can't use Pulse Meteor, he's too young. He's got Pulsemotium. I have to get him to the fields as soon as possible. I can't teleport, that only will aid the disease. I'll have to carry him by hand._" Xyrule said, picking Ash up and racing as fast as he could without dropping his load towards the Fields of Karkoul, the field around Xyrule's kingdom that Ash and his friends slept every night.

At this point, Ash's bleak state got worse. His skin started turning purple and his hair had started coming out in chunks. When Xyrule got to the Fields, he set Ash down on the soft grasses there. He made the third tear since he had met Ash, which he placed on Ash's cold, nearly stopped heart. The tear slowly sank into the flesh, emanating a soft, golden light, which quickly disappeared.

"What's going on?" Iris asked, running up to where Xyrule was sitting. Cilan and Aran followed.

"What happened to him?" Iris asked shakily when she saw Ash.

"_He was training with me when he used an unexpected Pulse Meteor. He's caught Pulsemotium, a disease that is only caught if something uses Pulse Meteor when the user is too young or inexperienced. I'm afraid it's always fatal, but one of my tears can slow the process down considerably. There is no known antidote._" Xyrule said, feeling sadness for the first time in his long life.

"Is he…?" Iris shook, unable to finish the question.

"_Not yet, but he's close._" Xyrule told them grimly.

"**Ah, so the so-called 'Chosen One' has managed to up and kill himself, with no hope of coming back this time.**" a cold, harsh voice suddenly said, "**It looks like you've lost, Xyrule. You cannot defeat me without him.**" The voice drawled on, poking Ash's cold, unfeeling body.

"_You will not win, Flarimist. His Aura still exists. With it, he can still defeat you, for his Aura is pure. Your Aura is tainted with every evil thing that you have ever done. Remember, Good always defeats Evil._" Xyrule told the voice, which suddenly took on form in front of him.

It was the ugliest thing that the humans there had ever seen. It had a gargoyle body, a cloak made of shadows around its neck, dark red eyes, and its head was made up of molten lava, with no face.

"**You and I both know, Xyrule, that you can never defeat Evil, you can only rise above it. That doesn't go the other way around, for you can corrupt everything, living and dead, so that good is inexistent in this pathetic excuse of a universe.**" Flarimist told Xyrule, quoting the Golden Rule of the constant battle between sin and purity.

"_That is true, but once you are defeated, that rule will be obsolete. Xyranna has spoken. You will soon be no more._" Xyrule warned the thing that was the Devil.

"**Bah! Your precious 'last hope for the universe' is dead. His Aura has gone into me now, with all the other souls who have died on this wretched excuse of a rock that you call 'Earth'. You think he can still hurt me, but nothing can happen if his Aura is part of me now. You will fall, and I will rule the universe!** Flarimist screamed, Psycho Boosting a nearby tree.

Xyrule blasted him with Slash, his arms splitting into six and lengthening into seven-foot blades, sending Flarimist careening into a mountain ten miles away. Flarimist shadow-teleported back to his spot.

"**Really? A Slash attack? You know that it doesn't affect me, just like every move that there ever was. You might as well give up and hand the universe over now, because I'll get it soon anyway.**" Flarimist spat at Xyrule, spraying venom directly at his face.

Xyrule blocked it with a simple Protect. Ash's arm lashed out all of a sudden, grabbing Flarimist by the leg.

"**What the…?**" Flarimist said, tripping from the sudden, unexpected movement, "**How did he do that? I feel his Aura inside of me right now. How?**"

Ash stood up, looking as if nothing had happened over the past few hours, except for an angry look on his face.

"I heard everything that you said, Flarimist!" he yelled angrily, "You've destroyed my life twice, you've killed my father, you've contaminated the entire universe with your filth! Go back to bleep!"

Ash started punching and kicking Flarimist, who only had to turn into shadows every attack to easily block it.

"That's not Ash! I know his voice, and what he says! He would never say that!" Iris started repeating, over and over again in Xyrule's face.

"_It's him. He's just angrier than he's ever been in his life. I can feel it in his Aura._" Xyrule said matter-of-factly.

"**Aaah!**" everyone heard Flarimist shriek.

They turned around. Ash had Flarimist's neck held tightly in his arms. Somehow, he had been able to stop Flarimist's shadow transformations. Flarimist had a look of…Was that pain?

"I got him. What do I do now, Xyrule?" Ash asked as if he had simply picked an apple from a tree.

"_Let him go. It's not time yet. Soon, you will be able to destroy him, Ash. Remember the trick that you did to manage to stop him from reverting into shadows. It will be very useful later on._" Xyrule said, following the prophecy that he had told them about. Ash let Flarimist go, reluctantly.

"What is the Great Prophecy, anyway?" Ash asked.

"We were wondering about that, too, Xyrule!" Aran said.

"_Here it is, then._" Xyrule said, understanding their curiosity.

The Great Prophecy

The Enemy, the Evil One

Will return with a vengeance

His return set by the Chosen One

Who must teach him repentance

Should the Evil One succeed in returning

The world will indeed fall

Unless He sees reason

From the Chosen One's own call

Death by three

Caused by the Evil One

Should the Chosen One fail

The End of Days be gone

No other may stop

The King of Evil, not alone

With Friendship's help, and belief see

His Destiny is set in stone

"Wow. That makes no sense at all." Aran, Cilan, Iris, and Ash said simultaneously.

"**That's because it's fake!**" Flarimist said.

"Don't you have anything better to do than bug us, Flarimist?" Aran asked, feeling brave.

Iris looked away, sure that Flarimist would blow Aran up on the spot. But instead, Flarimist leaned close to Aran's ear and said something that no one else heard, except Xyrule, who decided to keep it a secret.

"**You're lucky you are a good spy, or I would blast you to a crisp right now.**" he whispered, sinking into the shadows.


	9. Resurrection

"**It is time, Dragor. It is time to put Xyrule and his stupid companions into their rightful place. Soon, I will be called the new King of the Universe.**" Flarimist was crooning softly to his messaging dragon.

"_You will be a wonderful leader, Master._" Dragor said, purring softly when Flarimist scratched him behind the ear. Flarimist, of course, didn't know that Dragor was faking the entire "you're a great leader" thing, but Dragor wasn't about to tell him that. He wouldn't, because he knew that if he did, Flarimist would kill him and he would never be able to see The Devil die for good.

"How will I find Flarimist?" Ash asked his mentor.

"_You will not need to. He will find you first. He will perish, don't you worry about that, Ash. You can stand up to whatever he tries on you._" Xyrule answered, "_Speaking of which…_"

Flarimist had just appeared. He was standing on Darkell's grave. Big mistake. Ash tackled him. Flarimist temporarily was paralyzed, but quickly recovered and slipped into the darkness, appearing next to Xyrule.

"**I see that you haven't been able to train manners into him, Xyrule.**" the monster said.

"_He's still young, Flarimist. He'll grow into calmness later._"

"**There won't be a later, Xyrule. He cannot beat me with that attitude. It will only weaken him, and make me stronger. You're lucky I'm giving these hints to you, but I think it will even out the chances a little. I always hate battles that have an obvious end.**"

"Did you guys forget I was here?" Ash asked, startling both quarreling Pokémon, "You act like you're related."

"**_We are._**" they said simultaneously.

"Why can't I kill him yet, Xyrule?" Ash yelled, his face flushed red.

"_It is not time yet. You will be able to soon, though._" Xyrule reassured his still-inexperienced friend and training partner.

"**Oh, great. Now turn and talk about me as if I'm not here. I'm going back to the forest. Bye, losers.**" Flarimist was sounding a lot like Gary at that comment. Was he changing? He then disappeared into the shadows for the second time that day.

"Xyrule, is it possible, hypothetically, for Flarimist to change to good?" Ash turned and asked his tutor.

"_I'm not sure…_" Xyrule answered, letting his mind wander.

"Does Flarimist have a spy in Karkoul?"

"_Yes, although who you'll have to figure out yourself. Here is the last part of your training: find out who Flarimist's spy is, and discover the truth._" Xyrule said mystically.

"Huh?" Ash was confused.

"_You'll find out in time._"

"Aran, come here." Sarak, the Xorro, called. Aran, a blank , unblinking gaze in his eyes, obeyed.

"Yes, Master?" he asked in a hollow way.

"First, stop calling me that. Second, I have a message for you to give to Flarimist." The Xorro said the name without the fear that most other Pokémon had when they said the name, including other Xorro.

"What is the message?"

"Tell Flarimist that we are ready. He will understand it. Don't get caught, or that will be the end of you."

"Got it." Aran had been hypnotized by his own pet, who had been controlling him for some time now.

"Excellent."

"**Dragor, come here and tell me, what are you hiding from me?**" Flarimist told the demon from his flaming throne in the Underworld.

"_Nothing, Master, except for the glee that I feel for your soon-to-be victory._" the creature answered back, shakily, as usual.

"Sire, a message from Sarak!" a new voice said from the darkness.

"**What is it, Aran?**"

"He said, 'We are ready' and that you would understand it."

"**Ah! Our trap has sprung. They will never expect this.**" Flarimist said, pushing a secret button on his throne's arm. A lone spirit floated into the room. Darkell's. But it was wrong. No true soul.

"**Go, my little trick. Wreak havoc once again.**" The spirit bobbed for a second longer in the hot air, and then rose to where David's grave lay.

The ground around Darkell's tomb exploded, spraying dirt and mud everywhere.

"Whoa!" everyone exclaimed, knocked flat on their back by the detonation of dust. When the smoke cleared, they glimpsed Darkell's body rising up out of the ground, but only for a few seconds, because it swiftly floated toward the forest and disappeared.

"Darkell?" Ash asked, to anybody in general, "How?"

"_It is not Darkell. Do not be fooled. It is a trick, sent by Flarimist._" Xyrule said grimly.

"I don't believe you!" Ash cried, racing toward the forest.


	10. The Battle For The World

"Ash! You can't go in there!" Iris called after her best friend.

"I have to! I have to see Darkell again!" Ash yelled back, half in a craze, "Darkell!"

After a few minutes of heavy running, Iris finally had to give up. Ash still ran at full speed toward Darkell.

At the exact moment that she stopped, a shadow ran under her and sucked her in. She immediately lost consciousness.

"W-where am I?" When she awoke, Iris found herself alone in a dark, very hot prison room. At least, that's what it looked like.

"**You are in my throne room, in the middle of the Bottom Realms.**" a voice said.

A bright light suddenly shot out of the darkness. It was a tarp over her "cell". When she saw where she was, she nearly fainted again. The place was completely burning, and had spirits from dead Pokémon all over. She absolutely hated anything about dead or dying Pokémon.

"Ash and Xyrule will find me!" Iris shouted at the ugly thing that was The Devil.

"**Oh, I doubt it. Nothing, not even Xyrule, can get in here.**" Flarimist said, erupting into a crazy laugh that boomed around the large room.

"Darkell! Dad!" Ash was still following the image that he had seen. He finally was rewarded. He caught up to the being and grabbed its cloak.

"Auuuughhh!" it screamed, the life force peeling out of it like layers of mica. It turned the purest white before it went back to the limp, lifeless form of Darkell.

"Dad…" Ash said, realizing at last, "That really was a fake. My dad is still down there."

Ash sadly walked away, telekinetically carrying the limp Pokémorph back to Karkoul.

"He really was a fake. Sorry for not believing you, Xyrule." Ash said after he got back to the Fields.

"_It's okay. You couldn't have realized._" the Pokémon said sadly, feeling Ash's grief.

"Where's Iris?" Cilan asked all of a sudden.

"I though she came back here?" Ash said, confused.

"No, she never did." Cilan recalled.

"We have to find her!" Aran said, having been released from the hypnotics by Sarak, on order by Flarimist. Of course, no one knew he was ever in a trance, except Xyrule.

"**She's right here!**" Flarimist called from deep within the forest.

"Give her back!" Ash yelled when he saw the creepy being come out. He saw Iris. She was being held by one of Flarimist's strong arms against the gargoyle body. The other arm held an enormous scythe, which was poised right in front of Iris's neck.

"**Not until you and Xyrule give up and hand over the universe to me! You better, or the lady gets it.**" At that, the scythe grew sharper and nearer Iris.

"Ash…" Iris whispered, clearly terrified, or so it seemed. She then winked at him. Ash winked back.

"Shadow." he whispered back.

Iris immediately melted out of Flarimist's arms, and seeing the chance, slapped him in the face before racing towards her friends.

"**What?! How… But of course. Secret training. Good job, except for that you forgot that I am unstoppable.**" Flarimist said, surprised.

"_I know that you have been training Iris, Ash._" Xyrule told the trainer.

"I suppose there's no point lying. I've been training Iris for more than a month now. Do whatever you want with me, I know I broke the rules." Ash confessed, his face flushing red again.

"_I'm very disappointed in you, Ash._"

"I know. Go ahead, do whatever you want."

"_But, on the other hand, you have gained us a new ally. You may have broken the rules, but with only good intentions. I will not punish you. You must remember, as well, Rule # 34._"

"Do only what you think is right." Ash recalled the rule, one of the most emphasized by Xyrule during the training period.

"_Correct. And you believed that training Iris was a good idea and went through with it. I am proud of you for that. You have followed another rule, Rule # 35._" Xyrule went on.

"I don't remember Rule # 35." Ash said, trying to think back.

"_That's because I never told it to you. I didn't because I knew that you would follow it, no matter what. Rule # 35 is this: Follow your heart. And you passed with flying colors._"

"Wow…" Ash said, speechless.

"**Battle time yet, Xyrule? I'm waiting. You know that I'm impatient.**" Flarimist was saying, tapping his foot on the ground.

"_Yes, Flarimist, I know. Are you ready, Ash?_" Xyrule answered, turning to Ash.

"I'm ready." Ash said, stepping forward.

"If he's going, I'm going." Iris said, stepping up next to Ash.

"And me." Cilan.

"And me." Aran.

"And us." The entire Xorro pack.

"_And me._" Dragor said, stepping up from behind Flarimist and joining up with the rest.

"**Dragor, you too?**" Flarimist asked, amazed that his trusted servant could just go against him at the drop of a pin.

"_Yes, I have wanted to help your destruction for millennia. You have caused nothing but pain and fear to innocent people across the universe, and me as well._" Dragor said, revealing his true persona.

"For the world! For Darkell!" the rebellion yelled, charging, with Ash at the front.

They all, except for Ash, Xyrule, and Iris, who had hidden behind Ash, were immediately blown toward the other side of the field by a sudden rush of wind coming from the mountains.

"Hiyaaah!" A band of Pokémon raced down from the mountainsides. One came up from the ground.

The Legendary Pokémon had come. Ash recognized Dartor and Tambora. They were all healthy, and all extremely powerful.

An even larger group of powerful Pseudo-legendaries appeared. It included Raloc, Zephyr, Propanozark, Scytheraptor, and every other.

Even the weaker Pokémon came. All the newcomers banded up with the already large team. They now filled the entire Fields of Karkoul. The rest of the old team got back on their feet.

Flarimist was now surrounded in every direction by miles full of Pokémon, all with the same goal: kill him. An impatient Rattol tried to attack Flarimist with a Shock Pulse, but Flarimist just tossed it away and killed the little eelsnake.

"Everybody, pool your Aura! It's time for an Infinite Aura!" Ash yelled, loud enough for everyone to hear, in a leader-like way. Everyone listened. A multicolored ball of Aura appeared over everyone, then shrank, compacted, to the size of a pea. Ash picked it up, fused his Aura with it, and tossed it at the waiting Flarimist, who had begun to look bored, picking pieces off of himself to watch them regrow. It hit him like a cannonball on a Caterpie. Flarimist crumpled to the ground, not yet dead, but very seriously injured.

"_Wait…_" Xyrule said to himself, squinting to look closer to the dying evil.

"And now for the grand finale…Pulse Meteor!" Ash yelled, jumping into the air, "For Darkell!"

"_Stop!_" Xyrule shouted, jumping in the way of the powerful move. It hit him square in the chest. He stood his ground.

"Why are you helping me, your worst enemy, Xyrule?" Flarimist asked weakly.

"_Look._" Xyrule said simply. Flarimist obeyed. His arms had begun to soften into flesh, but still were distinct rock. He could feel his face solidify. Life. He was turning alive.

This all happened in the course of one millisecond. Ash eventually had to stop the attack. He jumped out of the smoke, landing perfectly on the ground, which had begun to melt from the heat.

"Why did you block the attack, Xyrule?" Ash queried, looking up to the tall Pokémon.

Xyrule's eyes flashed blue quickly, then back to green. "_Look at him._" he said, pointing to the dying Flarimist.

Flarimist used his last reserve of strength to look up. "I once was completely evil. But you, Ash and Xyrule, showed me the true light. I realize that now. Goodbye, everyone." he said, for the last time. In death, he changed into a human.

"He is good now. He is at peace." Ash said, looking down to the spot where Flarimist now lay, lifeless, "He had only just turned good, too. I almost feel sorry now."

"_I think I can help, but you'll need to aid me in reviving him, too._" Xyrule explained.

"Okay." Ash said, taking a deep breath.

"_Close your eyes and concentrate your Living Aura._" Xyrule said, following the rules of training.

A blue spiral floated from both revivers, which combined into a larger one. The vortex of life twisted toward the waiting body. When it hit, a change immediately happened. Flarimist rose up out of the ground. He was now a handsome, tall young man, and not the reflection of the evil that is gone now.

"Hello. Am I really here?" Flarimist asked, in a new voice, a still-deep, but much less, and slightly ringing tone.

"_Yes, you are. This is your second chance._"

"Thank you. From the bottom of my cold, black, empty heart. That is the phrase, right?" Flarimist said, his first joke.

_"It is done._" said Xyrule, and everyone cheered. The Devil was gone! No more bad things! The universe was saved!

And best of all, to Ash, his father had survived.

"What happened?" Ash's long-lost dad asked, slightly confused. Then he saw Ash. Recognition flowed through him.

"Ash!" he said, running up and picking his son up in joy.

"The world is saved, Dad! Flarimist is changed! We can go home now." Then Ash noticed something else, too.

"You're changing!" It was true. Darkell's body was slowly losing the shadows and the helmet was dissolving. When it stopped, he was human once again. After 14 years, David had truly returned.

"I'm back to how I was when you were a kid! Flarimist's curse must have worn away after he left! I can return to you and your mother, finally!" David realized.

"We couldn't have done it without you, Ash." Iris said, everyone around them nodding in agreement.

"No, we all did it." Ash said, Darkell nodding in agreement. Everyone else did, too, realizing the wisdom.

"Thank you all. If it wasn't for you, I would never have realized what it truly means to be alive. Thank you." Flarimist, in his new body, said gratefully.

"You're welcome, Flarimist." everyone answered.

"Gah! I hate that name now. I'm changing it. But what to?" Flarimist told the crowd, "I still want to keep 'Mist' as my last name."

"How about 'Aden Mist'?" Cilan thought.

"I like that, actually! I'll keep it. 'Aden' means 'fire' too, doesn't it?" Flarimist said, thinking.

"Yes, it does." Iris said, the first thing she had said since the transformation.

"_I can make a schedule for you to go back to your home. Delia will be very elated to see you both._" Xyrule told them.

"Can we go, too?" Iris, Cilan, Dragor, and Aran, with Sarak, asked.

"Are you sure? You all have a reason that you've said to stay, plus there's a hotel close by every town." Ash asked, making sure.

"The only true reason for us being here is the adventure, but now that Flarimist is gone, that adventure is gone. That's probably the only thing wrong with his death." Iris explained.

"I'm going too." Flarimist, or Aden, said, stepping up.

"Sorry for hating you, David." Aran said, facing his old "enemy".

"It's okay. It had to be done." David responded.

"_I have made the arrangements. Eight plane tickets to Kanto Region. I used the best airline there is for you._" Xyrule said, looking at everyone.

"Thanks, Xyrule!" everyone said, then looked at every Pokemon that wouldn't be going, "We'll miss you all!"

They were replied with more cheers from the crowd. Some Pokemon from the unevolved part of the mob even came forward, close to the soon-departing heroes. There was a Rattol, a Zeror, a Propesh, a Velociscythe, and a Keiko. The Keiko went directly to Iris, the Rattol to Ash, the Velociscythe to Aran, the Zeror to Cilan, and the Propesh to David. They started rubbing the legs of those people.

"I think they want us to capture them." Iris said, taking out a Pokeball to see what they would do. They started jumping up and down excitedly. So all the people took out a Pokeball, Ash gave David one, and captured their new Pokemon. Aran got to capture Sarak the Xorro as well.

"_I have done a lot of thinking, and I have decided that I want Ash to capture me. I have been watching him since day one that he was here, and I like what I've seen. I made my decision. I want to be captured._" Dragor revealed.

"Really?" Ash asked, "You're willing to lose freedom for me? I'll keep you out."

Dragor was sure, so Ash pulled out one of his last Pokeballs and captured the dragon. He let him out as soon as he had finished capturing him.

"_Thank you, Ash. For everything._"

"_Your flight is ready._" Xyrule said, announcing the arrival of a small private plane.

"Goodbye, everyone." the team said, waving to the crowd as the door closed.

"_Goodbye, my friend._" Xyrule said, whispering.

"Goodbye, Xyrule." Flarimist said to himself, as if answering his old enemy.


	11. Return

When the plane holding the crew touched down, Ash, Iris, Cilan, Aran, David, Aden, Sarak, and Dragor got off, each going a different way, only a few in a group.

"Mom! I'm back from my journey! And you'll never be able to guess who I brought back!" Ash called when he walked into the door of his old house, which he knew his family still lived in.

"Ash! Oh, I've missed you! Who did you bring back?" Delia said, standing up from a chair that she was sitting in.

"Hi, honey. It's been a long 14 years. I've missed you." David said.

"David! Oh, I've missed you too! How'd you and Ash get here? And how did he find you?" Delia said, kissing her husband for a long enough time to make Ash have to look away.

"Sorry, Ash. I forgot you don't like romance." she said, backing away finally.

"Also, it was more like 'Dad found me in a forest'. Literally." Ash said, throwing in false sarcasm, his strong point when he was younger.

"We made plenty of new friends in the past few months." David told his wife.

"Really? Who?" Delia asked, curious.

"Well, let's see… There's Xyrule, Dragor, Aden, and Aran. I also met Ash's friends, Iris and Cilan." David said.

"Wow, a lot of new friends! Did you have fun?" Delia asked again.

"Yes, we did!" Ash said.

"What was your favorite part?" Delia questioned.

"Mine was The Battle for the World." Ash said.

"I liked the entire time the same." David said.

Meanwhile, at the Monolith Gym's ruins from before this all happened, Aden and Aran were watching the clouds above.

"It feels good to be alive for the first time. I've never before noticed the beauty and marvel of the environment around me. Maybe that's because I used to destroy everything around me." Aden was saying, looking back all those millennia that he had broken the universe's delicate strands of life.

"Sure. I still don't get what has happened in the past few weeks. I mean, a couple months ago, I couldn't get along with anybody, least of all, Darkell. Now, I can't seem to get enough friends."Aran responded.

With all seriousness, Aden looked at him. "Remember, your heritage will be activated once again. I don't know when or how, but it will."

Aran gulped, then looked back at the clouds.

In the center of the town, near nightfall, Iris and Cilan were watching the clouds, just like Aran and Aden were. They were in the center of the enormous park that stretched around and through the city.

"Have you ever thought about how small and insignificant we really are compared to the enormous universe, Cilan?" Iris asked, wisdom flowing through the pure, cool summer air freely.

"I guess I never have. You're right. I do feel tiny, comparingly speaking. Weird how a new, big adventure can change a man so much. I mean, look at Flarimist and Aran. Or Aran and Aden, I mean." Cilan replied, his eyes growing larger in his thoughts.

"Have you ever felt love for anyone?" Iris then asked, changing the subject almost completely.

"No, I can't say I have." Cilan said after a minute, "Have you?"

"Once, I did, but that is over now."

"What happened?" Cilan asked curiously.

"Never mind. I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, you started the subject, though." Cilan said, falling asleep in the gently moving breeze and soft grasses. Iris fell asleep next.

The next morning, Ash received a package in the mail. It was different from a normal box, though. For one thing, it was neon green and glowing softly.

"What is this?" Ash asked, cutting a slit down the side of the box with his pocketknife. After he finished the cut, he gently pulled open the flap.

"There's no note. Weird." Ash said to himself. He opened the package.

Inside was Xyrule's power plate.

* * *

_Once I thought that a happy ending was a fairytale. But now, thanks to the help of Xyrule and the Chosen One, I now know I was wrong. A happy ending is always an option. I will never forget the lesson that was taught to me that day. I will remember that lesson until the day that I fade from existence._

_Thank you, Ash Ketchum, for teaching me how to believe._

_And you, dear reader, good luck, and may Xyrule's power watch over you._


	12. Epilogue

After this exciting adventure, Ash definitely had a big change in his personality and mind. He had become friendlier, stronger, and sharper than ever before. His friends had gone through the same change. His father had returned. The world was rid of the evil Flarimist.

But was Flarimist's reign of terror really over? Was evil really gone from the universe? Or is there another?

_I feel a new threat forming._

_A new evil._

_A __dilemma__ has come back._


End file.
